Page 72 of Grasp The Moment

Cleo opens the door to the apartment, and Derek immediately walks in, taking Delilah to Sienna’s room. My best friend gives me a confused look, sliding a fresh glass of water to me.

“Do I want to know what happened? Why did Derek look scary… Heneverhas that look.”

My eyes trail from Cleo to the empty hall where he disappeared. “I?—”

Derek comes back down the hall, his brown eyes searching for me, and when they land, I’m pulled to him like a moth to a flame.

He lets out a shaky breath, eyes darting from my head to my toes as if checking to see if I’m still here and okay.

He needs me. I know he does.

I walk him to the balcony, sure to close it fully behind us as he takes a step outside. His eyes are hollow and lifeless as they peer down at me, drained from the day. Without thinking, I pull him into me. I need him to use me, to take everything he needs to feel better. I want him to be the Derek that I know, instead of this shell.

I don’t know what happened when I walked out, but I know that it fucked him up.

“You’re okay, Dere… I’m here. It’s okay to feel,” I say as he crumbles in my arms, pulling me deeper into a hug and into his world.

His shaky breath breaks something in me as he squeezes himself around me tighter. “I won’t leave you, okay? We’re in this together.”

He sighs, taking a seat on one of the lounge chairs, allowing me to step in between his legs as he hugs my waist.

“I don’t miss her... Youhaveto know that I don’t miss her, but…”

“Seeing her hurts.”

He chuckles depreciatively into my stomach, shaking his head. “Why would my mom do that to us?”

There it is.

The type of hurt that he feels was doubled tonight. A ghost from his past returned, and the one who brought him into this world deceived him. He’s not only dealing with the feelings of a hurt father, but also a wounded son.

“If you want to end this, I understand… You shouldn’t have had to witness that today or been anywhere near my ex,” he says into my stomach, muffling his words, but I hear every single one.

Chuckling, I pull away a bit, holding his head in my palms, staring into his beautiful brown eyes.

“You think one fucked-up dinner will send me running away? Have you met me, Mr. Perez? I’m not going anywhere, so don't give up on us either. It's us against everything else, but never each other—got it?”

His breathing is shaky as he looks up at me with sorrow. “I got it,” he whispers.

Pressing a soft kiss to his lips, I smile. “Good…”

I lead him back into the apartment a while later. Cleo, Sienna, Blake, Jace, and Delilah lie around watching cartoons as we reenter. The group laughs as some jokes land, and others go over their heads.

“Are you two off? We’ve got Deli tonight,” Sienna speaks up, turning her body on the couch as I nod, grabbing the keys to Derek’s truck.

“Take good care of our girl, okay?” I say to my friends as I grab hold of the stunned man's hand.

They each acknowledge the order as I turn to Delilah. “Dels, you’re in charge.”

She giggles, blowing me a kiss, which I reciprocate.

Our trek to the car is silent as I lead Derek to the passenger side of the car, standing there expectantly as he quirks a brow at me before getting in.

It was easier than I thought to get him to ride as a passenger in his baby. Sliding into the driver’s seat, I grin as I take in the powerful truck, putting it in gear as he speaks up.

“What are you doing, Georgia?”

“Taking you somewhere to relax.”